It's a Different Kind of Democracy

Kazakhstan's opposition accused the United States on Wednesday of backing what they see as the authoritarian regime of President Nursultan Nazarbayev and valuing oil more than democracy.

  Alternet

Oh, please! The U.S.?! Value oil more than democracy?! Well, that's just too ridiculous to even comment on.

Nazarbayev, who has been in power since 1989, would have had to step down when his current term expires in 2012, but he changed the constitution this week to give himself the right to stay in office for life.

Washington called the amendments, which included other reforms such as strengthening parliament, a move in the "right direction".

It's enough to make you weep.

Isn't trying to give yourself a path to being president for life what has earned Hugo Chavez demonization in Washington?

U.S. oil firms have invested heavily in Kazakhstan, which is expected to join the world's top 10 oil producers in a decade. Washington has also persuaded Kazakhstan to join a pipeline that takes Caspian oil to European markets while bypassing Russia.

[...]

Another opposition leader, Bolat Abilov, said "even monarchs don't have such power", adding that the opposition was preparing to hold a rally to protest against the amendments next week.

[...]

"Anyone who is more or less educated will see they are only 10 percent democratic and the rest is aimed at strengthening the authoritarian regime," Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, head of the opposition Social Democratic party, told a news conference.

Yeah, well, anyone who is more or less educated isn't running the government of the United States, Zharm my man.

W3IAI comments:

Anyway, says the US ambassador, just because there are no longer term limits, it is “very speculative” to suggest that that means Nazarbayev will be president-for-life, just because he’s fixed every election he’s ever held. At the daily State Dept briefing, Scott McCormack also claimed there were “a whole host” of reforms that indicated Kazakhstan was moving “in the right direction." He was unable to name any of them.

Number one: They joined a pipeline that takes oil to Europe and bypasses Russia.

By the way, who do we know who was on the oil advisory board for Kazakhstan?

Here's Kazakhstan's record on human rights as of 2006 - taken right from the U.S. Department of State website:

The following human rights problems were reported: severe limits on citizens' rights to change their government; an incident of unlawful deprivation of life; military hazing that led to deaths; detainee and prisoner abuse; unhealthy prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of government opponents; lack of an independent judiciary; increased restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and association; pervasive corruption, especially in law enforcement and the judicial system; restrictions on the activities of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); discrimination and violence against women; trafficking in persons; and societal discrimination.

So, actually, I'm thinking that Washington is jealous of Nazarbayev and, along with the following information (also from the State Dept. website), and the removal of term restrictions for the president, of course Washington declared Kazakhstan is moving in "the right direction."

President Nazarbayev was re elected for a third 7-year term in December 2005; observers criticized that election as falling short of a number of international standards. The constitution concentrates power in the presidency, permitting the president to control regional and local governments and to exercise significant influence over the legislature and judiciary. Changes or amendments to the constitution require presidential consent. The president exercised control over the military and the security forces, although members of the security forces committed human rights abuses in a few instances.

The Bush administration dreams of this kind of a government. And they're working on getting us there, too.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.